


Like a phoenix

by sugarandspace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hopeful Ending, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23156821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Jace watches Clary from afar and notices how happy she is in her mundane life.
Relationships: Clary Fray/Jace Wayland
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29
Collections: Shadowhunters Tarot Challenge





	Like a phoenix

**Author's Note:**

> Written for week two of Shadowhunters Tarot Challenge where the prompt was [death](https://tarotfic.tumblr.com/post/612034335016665088/death-a-skeletal-hand-reaches-up-from-the-darkness)! I looked at it from rebirth point of view, so no actual physical death in this fic!

Jace looks at her from afar. It’s the third art exhibition where she’s been featured in the past two months. She really is a talented painter, and it’s clear that art is her passion. 

When she was living in the Institute, there weren’t many times Jace saw her drawing or painting but the times he did saw he had to admit he’d never seen anyone so talented. Jace might have been biased, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. Her artworks were always very good.

But there’s something about these paintings that strikes Jace deeper than any art has before. 

Jace can’t ignore the thought that she’s smiling a lot more now than she was when she was a part of their world. She’s vibrant and happy, and all the weight she carried on her shoulders when she was a Fairchild seems to have been lifted together with her memories. She’s no longer fighting for her life, she’s doing things she enjoys doing.

There’s nothing Jace would want more than for her to remember and return to the Shadow World, the world that is just as much hers as it is Jace’s. It is a part of her that was taken from her without her consent, and she deserves to have it back. Jace feels like there’s a fundamental part of him missing now that she is no longer in his life, and he wonders if she feels the same - like something is missing.

But then he takes another look at her bright smile as she talks with someone who seems to know more about art than Jace ever could, and he wonders if he’s selfish. If she’s happier here, without the knowledge of all things that may be preying in the dark.

Shadow World is more peaceful now, without Valentine and Jonathan, and they have Clary to thank for that. She deserves the thank you, but maybe the best thank you she could get is the ability to forget all that went down with her family. All the sacrifices she had to make.

Jace feels torn as he watches Clary smile to the person she’s talking with before the person leaves and her attention turns to a painting that’s shades of gold remind Jace of the moment they tried to use their angelic connection to track Jonathan. Her smile wavers, replaced by a slight expression of confusion.

Jace doesn’t know what to do, isn’t even sure if there’s anything he could do, so he keeps watching from afar and makes sure no one attacks her on her way home after the exhibition. It’s the least he can do after all she did for them, all she taught to Jace.

He just wishes that maybe someday, he’ll get some kind of a sign that’ll show him what he should do. Not from the Angel, no, Jace has lost his faith in the Angel’s ability to see what’s right, but maybe Clary will somehow help him see the way he should take. 

All he knows for now is that he can’t forget her. One of them has to remember.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've posted Clace, I have another wip in the works for this pairing as well and I promise it's a lot happier! :D
> 
> You can find me from [tumblr](https://sugarandspace.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/sugarandspace_)!


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